


what am i to you?

by phanstarlight



Series: wanna one ficlets ✰ [2]
Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Gen, Shipping If You Squint, jihoon tries to help for a bit, no angst for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 02:49:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12925722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phanstarlight/pseuds/phanstarlight
Summary: jinyoung still couldn't wrap his head around guanlin's character.↳ in which jinyoung attempts to find out why guanlin doesn't call him 'hyung'





	what am i to you?

**Author's Note:**

> this was written rlly late so i apologize in advance lmao
> 
> i'm all here for underappreciated friendships in kpop groups :D

guanlin was an enigma.

at least, that was what jinyoung thought. the maknae was, at first glance, a tall and intimidating presence amongst the others but when he spoke, all of that seemed to go away. he was loud, excitable with a gummy smile that could light up the entire dorm in seconds.

in saying that, jinyoung still couldn't wrap his head around guanlin's character.

said boy could be heard calling "jihoon hyung!!" at least 20 times a day (he counted) and trailing after "sungwoonie hyung" several times, but for some reason guanlin refused to call jinyoung his hyung. he'd never voiced the reason why, leaving jinyoung to assume there just was no reason for it but it still came to mind often. it wasn't as if it offended him or upset him, jinyoung was just a person to liked to know what the others around him were thinking, yearned it even.

perhaps that was why guanlin confusing him made him so annoyed. on stage, he would be charismatic and intense but as soon as they got off stage, the boy would immediately turn to his other members with that stupid grin of his, congratulating everyone for doing so well and then rushing over to monitor their performance.

"woah, jinyoung you look so awesome!" guanlin suddenly hollered, transfixed on their performance of burn it up. jinyoung, being taken off guard from the maknae's sudden praise, could only nod his head and mumble a small thanks as guanlin shot him a smile. all he could do was stand there in genuine purplexity at the compliment, only being brought back to the real world by minhyun's concerned comment of "jinyoung, you've been standing there for a minute now, are you ok?" nodding a small conformation, jinyoung moved back to the make-up stylists.

↠↠

when the opportunity came to decipher guanlin, even just a bit, jinyoung sprung to the chance. whilst they were meant to be filming for zero base, guanlin had wordlessly joined jinyoung in his fortress of balls (which, according to woojin, he really had to rename.) said boy buried himself in deep within the ball pit before pulling out his phone. jinyoung peered out of the room, realising that the cameras were most likely focused on jaehwan and seongwoo dicking around outside; he could talk to guanlin undisturbed.

"why don't you call me hyung?" the question was sudden and, really, he probably should've built up such a heavy question. guanlin looked up from his phone and shot his hyung a look of confusion.

"is it bothering you?"

"it's bothering me that i don't know."

the younger boy laughed slightly, bothering jinyoung even more. he went back to his phone, smile still present.

"i just don't."

"you just don't what?"

"call you hyung," guanlin stated, "i just don't."

after that, guanlin had become absorbed into his phone without giving him a proper answer. jinyoung slunk down into the ball pit in an act of stress; why wouldn't guanlin tell him?

he was still no closer to understanding him.

↠↠

he'd been thinking about this all week, why guanlin refused to call him hyung for no apparent reason. it'd been affecting him too: at a fansign he'd been so deep in thought about it that he had accidentally signed an album with guanlin's name rather than the fan's.

"here you go!"

"...oppa, you wrote guanlin...my name's jisoo."

jisoo and guanlin don't sound alike in the least, so the 'i misheard you' excuse most likely didn't fly.

what was he meant to do though? guanlin wasn't going to tell him, nor would he end up telling any of their fans. all jinyoung could do is stress about it alone until guanlin decided to tell him! unless...

there was one person guanlin would tell. jinyoung snuck a gaze at said person lounging around in their room, seeing them already on their phone. did he really want to text that person? was it really worth it?

"woojin hyung!" guanlin could be heard calling from across the zero base pad. woojin was only a few months older than him, for god's sake!

fuck it.

with a heavy sigh, jinyoung picked up his phone and began typing to the one person he knew he could get an answer out of.

―

_[private message to: the fakest™]_

**jinyoung** : jihoon hyung  
**jinyoung** : i need ur help  
**jinyoung** : hyung  
**jinyoung** : I CAN SEE YOU ON UR PHONE ANSWER ME  
**jinyoung** : sigh  
**jinyoung** : my favourite jihoonie hyung!!

 **jihoon** : (・ω<) teehee! you called?

 **jinyoung** : i regret this so much

 **jihoon** : wyd  
**jihoon** : how can i help u smolhead

 **jinyoung** : you  
**jinyoung** : speak to guanlin alot right

 **jihoon** : yh?  
**jihoon** : u have eyes why ask

 **jinyoung** : because!!  
**jinyoung** : he won't tell me why he won't call me hyung!!!  
**jinyoung** : i thought you might know!!

 **jihoon** : owo? me?

 **jinyoung** : i'll come over there and end ur fuckin life in a second

 **jihoon** : sorry sorry  
**jihoon** : idk why he doesnt call u that tho  
**jihoon** : lack of respect for u maybe??  
**jihoon** : i mean,,,i cant blame him

 **jinyoung** : this is serious!  
**jinyoung** : it's bothering me because he won't tell me!  
**jinyoung** : have i done wrong by him?? does he just not see me as a hyung? am i just not important to him?? HELP

 **jihoon** : oh damn u rlly are stressed lol

 **jinyoung** : can you ask him for me or smth?  
**jinyoung** : please

 **jihoon** : whats in it for me?

 **jinyoung** : the knowledge and satisfaction that u have helped a precious dongsaeng :D

 **jihoon** : ...

 **jinyoung** : i'll distract sungwoon hyung so u can take his phone n text kim taehyung

 **jihoon** : now were talking  
**jihoon** : brb, lemme just slide into guanlins dms  
**jihoon** : will text u the results :*

 **jinyoung** : tysm  
**jinyoung** : i have trust in u!

 **jihoon** : ( ᵒ̴̶̷̥́ _ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀ )

ー

jinyoung sat in wait for a good 15 minutes, watching his hyungs scream into the karaoke machine to pass the time. when his phone buzzed again, he was ready to praise the highest heavens.

―

_[private message to: the fakest™]_

**jihoon** : (ﾉ≧ڡ≦) i'm back teehee!

 **jinyoung** : DID YOU GET ANSWERS

 **jihoon** : i was gettin to that jinyoungie  
**jihoon** : geez  
**jihoon** : maybe im the one lackin respect around here

 **jinyoung** : hyung please just tell me what he said

 **jihoon** : ok!  
**jihoon** : i asked guanlin but tbh he wasnt much help  
**jihoon** : he just kinda said that it doesnt feel right to call u a hyung  
**jihoon** : when i asked why he refused to answer me

 **jinyoung** : he refused to answer you?

 **jihoon** : yh  
**jihoon** : so i did wat any sane man would do  
**jihoon** : hes remaining blocked until he shows me proper respect  
**jihoon** : daehwi is my fave dongsaeng now <3

 **jinyoung** : so he really isn't telling anyone...

jihoon: bleh  
**jihoon** : maybe hell tell u another time?  
**jihoon** : i doubt its anythin deep like he hates u  
**jihoon** : guanlin likes u very, very much

 **jinyoung** : i like him very very much as well

 **jihoon** : oh, confession??

 **jinyoung** : i just want to know ok?  
**jinyoung** : sigh

 **jihoon** : there there  
**jihoon** : u will find ur answers jinyoungie  
**jihoon** : until then, dont stress too much?  
**jihoon** : srsly its already on sns how u fucked up that girls name as guanlin

 **jinyoung** : SHUT UP  
**jinyoung** : i'm going  
**jinyoung** : if he ends up telling you anything please tell me  
**jinyoung** : thanks for the help(?)

 **jihoon** : np!  
**jihoon** : bye christopher!  
**jihoon** : jinyoung *

 **jinyoung** : they aren't even alike??

 **jihoon** : neither are jisoo and guanlin...but go off i guess

_[block: the fakest™ ?]_

_[you have decided to block: the fakest™]_

↠↠

as time went on, he had started to accept that he'd never find out why guanlin didn't call him hyung. of course it annoyed him; he wanted to get to know the maknae better! but alas, guanlin would never answer his question properly or anyone else who asked.

the chance to find out came at a really...really unusual time.

or so, that's what he would say.

the members had all gathered to watch 'it' together and this time, guanlin wasn't allowed to skip out on it. the staff (and the fans, probably) had complained at the lack of guanlin during the annabelle watching, so said boy had been dragged to watch against his own will. as the movie started, guanlin was already snuggled up to minhyun in fear of what was to come.

the movie went on: the members screamed when someone died, laughed at the rare times when something funny happened and wiped their eyes when a beloved character ended up meeting their fate. throughout the movie though, jinyoung's eyes would switch between the screen and guanlin who, unsurprisingly, had his face buried in one of the cushions to avoid the murder scenes. the rare occasions that he wasn't trying to ignore the movie, he could be heard screaming almost the loudest (jaehwan had taken the crown as the loudest) and attempting to hide away. even the other members were chuckling slightly at the youngest's reactions, offering him a place to sleep after the movie if he got too scared.

when 'it' came to an end, there was popcorn everywhere... literally. halfway through, woojin had started a popcorn fight with jihoon which ended up hitting seongwoo, who ended up hitting daehwi, who ended up almost murdering daniel with it...you see where this is going. as a result, they had all been forced to spend the aftermath of the horror film cleaning up and watching minhyun getting even more hyped to use his newly found roomba friend.

"you ok guanlinnie?" jisung had suddenly asked, shooting the maknae a look full of concern, "you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"pennywise was a clown actu-" jisung didn't hesitate in pelting the remaining popcorn kernels at woojin for his comment. the question was forgotten almost instantly by everyone apart from jinyoung, who couldn't help taking a glance at guanlin. the boy in question really did look like he'd seen a ghost, pale and kind of panicked. instead of asking him if he was ok, he'd just continued cleaning; guanlin had all the other members offering to sleep beside him tonight if he needed it anyway.

↠↠

"i'm turning off the lights!"

"do it then, pussy!"

jinyoung suppressed a laugh at sungwoon's outburst as he tried to get comfortable in the ball pit bed. zero base was now pitch-black.

he'd been trying to doze off for around ten minutes, perhaps, when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of footsteps in the direction of...his room? he wiped his eyes and tried to focus on the figure heading his way but to no avail. not even daehwi would try to awake him at this time so who the hell was it?

the figure stopped right outside of his room, seemingly to debate whether getting up was the right thing to do before whispering out.

"jinyoung?"

only then, did jinyoung finally realise who it was.

"guanlin?" he mumbled out, wiping his eyes even harder, "why're you still up?"

"...the movie," guanlin struggled to get out, "i... didn't like it."

understanding almost instantly, jinyoung moved over in his bed of balls, beckoning guanlin to join him. he did just that. said boy rested his head on jinyoung's shoulder, thanking him quietly for this.

"no problem...sorry they made you watch it with us."

"mhm, it's fine."

both remained in silence for a while longer, to the point where jinyoung had assumed guanlin had already fallen asleep. he was about to follow suit when the younger's voice pulled him out of it.

"...jinyoung?"

"i'm still awake, yeah?"

there was hesitation on guanlin's part as he spoke again.

"sorry for not telling you," guanlin seemed to think a bit again, "on why i don't call you hyung like everyone else."

"...it's fine," thankfully, jinyoung could laugh about it now the fact didn't bother him as much, "i chalked it down to you just not seeing me as a hyung."

"that's not really it though."

"oh?"

"...do you want to know?"

this was it, the moment jinyoung had been waiting for. guanlin was here offering to tell him the answer to the question he'd been pondering since produce 101! jinyoung had never been more thankful that the lights being off hid his way too overexcited expression.

"sure, if you want to tell me." nice, playing it smooth bae jinyoung.

"...well..." guanlin sighed softly, and if jinyoung didn't know him any better, he assumed the maknae was trying to get the right words out. cute, he thought to himself.

"you and i," he started, "...are too alike." jinyoung was dumbfounded by this, though he doubted the other boy could tell. his silence prompted guanlin to continue his explanation.

"it doesn't feel right to call someone hyung if they just like you..."

"do you mean because of my age?"

"...not really," he mumbled, "i don't know how to explain in words."

there was an uncomfortable silence after guanlin said that, leaving jinyoung to ponder what he had been told. were him and guanlin really that alike? he'd always considered guanlin an easy person to get along with, the youngest always being a bundle of joy and laughter, whilst he was a much harder person to get close with due to his shy nature. before wanna one was created, jinyoung was fortunate that there were trainees willing to put up with his shy demeanour and try and get closer to him (jihoon, daehwi, jaechan and woojin were just some of the few).

"...you're really hard to understand too, you know." guanlin's sudden comment caught him off guard, making him turn towards the boy properly (or, as much as you could turn with the person still on your shoulder).

"you think i'm really hard to understand but you're something else jinyoung," he chuckled to himself, "sometimes you're really reserved and shy but then...you just bloom and get really talkative..."

"oh?"

"i can't really figure you out, i guess." guanlin shrugged.

"i don't get you either!" jinyoung didn't exactly shout, the words came out as more of a whisper-shout but nonetheless, guanlin still looked somewhat taken back. the younger boy lifted his head from jinyoung's shoulders though, jinyoung couldn't make out his expression properly in the dark.

"am i confusing?"

"um, yes?" as the other boy audibly snorted, jinyoung repressed his desire to playfully the boy.

"how so?"

"you're you!" jinyoung paused, realising that wasn't exactly the best explanation before starting over, "you're just... much more excitable than i thought?"

"hm?"

"i don't know, you just seem intimidating at first glance, plus the fact you never call me hyung...like ever." yeah, that was a good enough explanation, he figured. guanlin let out a weird ass sound of acknowledgement before shifting his head back to jinyoung's shoulder.

"i never realised..." jinyoung prepared to apologize, thinking his comments had upset guanlin; he stopped when the younger boy started to snuggle into his shoulder more. it felt weird since guanlin never interacted like him with this but at the same time, oddly comforting?

the rustle of the plastic balls echoed through zero base, making jinyoung cringe slightly, until guanlin found what he was looking for. the light from his phone finally allowed jinyoung to see the other and a smile escaped him. guanlin had his usual dopey smile, the one fans would instantly warm to; his hair was ruffled from hiding in jinyoung's shoulder for so long but that didn't seem to matter to him. after the light let both boys see each other clearly, the taiwanese boy's grin grew even bigger.

"you're so nice jinyoung ~" he breathed out. jinyoung didn't really know what he was referring to but that didn't mean anything to him. instead, he shared guanlin's smile, moving the other's head closer to the crook of his shoulder.

"you think so?"

"mhm!" he beamed even brighter than the phone light, before letting out a small yawn.

"you should sleep, guanlin."

"i will...goodnight jinyoungie ~" the phone light disappeared along with jinyoung's view of guanlin (his heart ached a tad, though he'd never admit it) as the other rested himself within the crook of jinyoung's neck to doze off.

this entire conversation had helped him understand guanlin more, more than he thought it would, and he felt sort of heart-warmed at that. the other boy was really something when it came to explaining himself... but that wasn't anything to dwell on now. he was tired, and closed his eyes to join the maknae in dreaming away.

guanlin was really cute, jinyoung thought, before resting.

**Author's Note:**

> the ending is weird but i wanted to leave jinyoung's feelings out in the open/ambiguous? idk
> 
> (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ thanks for reading!


End file.
